You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: the popularity of online ordering is on a meteoric rise. From giants like Amazon to small startups, direct-to-consumer delivery and pickup options have swept the country – and restaurants are no exception. Ordering food online or through a mobile app took off in 2019 and it will only grow further and faster in 2020.
With the rise in mobile and online ordering across industries, consumers have turned to solutions that simplify their lives and even the biggest skeptics are translating their dining experience into an online ordering solution to better serve guests. But just how important is providing online ordering for your digital customers?
Restaurant Online Ordering Statistics
For savvy restaurateurs that rely on data to make important business decisions, we have 22 statistics that will give you some insight into just how powerful online ordering is.
- 60% of U.S. consumers order delivery or takeout once a week.
- 31% say they use these third-party delivery services at least twice a week.
- 34% of consumers spend at least $50 per order when ordering food online.
- 20% of consumers say they spend more on off-premise orders compared to a regular dine-in experience.
- Digital ordering and delivery have grown 300% faster than dine-in traffic since 2014.
- 70% of consumers say they’d rather order directly from a restaurant, preferring that their money goes straight to the restaurant and not a third party.
- 57% of millennials say that they have restaurant food delivered so they can watch movies and TV shows at home.
- 59% of restaurant orders from millennials are takeout or delivery.
- 33% of consumers say they would be willing to pay a higher fee for faster delivery service.
- 87% of Americans who use third-party food delivery services agree that it makes their lives easier.
- 45% of consumers say that offering mobile ordering or loyalty programs would encourage them to use online ordering services more often.
- 63% of consumers agree that it is more convenient to get delivery than dining out with a family.
- Americans who have not used a third-party restaurant delivery service say fast delivery (31%), restaurant selection (28%), low order minimums (27%) and first-use coupons (26%) would motivate them to try it.
- 60% of restaurant operators say that offering delivery has generated incremental sales.
- Orders placed via smartphone and mobile apps will become a $38 billion industry by 2020.
- Pizza chains reported an 18% increase in customer spend from online/mobile orders vs. phone orders.
- Working with a third party delivery service has been found to raise restaurant sales volume by 10 to 20%.
- Delivery sales could rise an annual average of more than 20% to $365 billion worldwide by 2030, from $35 billion.
- 43% of restaurant professionals said they believe third-party apps—many of which withhold data—interfere with the direct relationship between a restaurant/bar/pub and its customers.
- Customers who place an online order with a restaurant will visit that restaurant 67% more frequently than those who don’t.
- It’s estimated that mobile orders will make up close to 11% of all QSR sales by 2020.
- Visits to U.S. restaurants where guests paid by mobile app increased by 50% from 2017-18.
COVID-19 Restaurant Online Ordering Statistics
Online ordering is now the primary source of revenue for many restaurants. For your business to succeed with take out and online ordering, it’s important to understand the shift in guests’ behaviors and how to translate your in-house hospitality to delivery and takeout sales.
- Own your online ordering system: 43% of restaurant professionals said they believe third-party apps interfere with the direct relationship between a restaurant and its customers.
- Restaurants can get back 20-30% of pre-COVID revenue from lost alcohol sales now that most states allow alcohol to be sold with takeout and/or delivery orders.
- From February to April there was a 169% increase in the number of restaurants actively using Online Ordering with Upserve as restaurants quickly innovated and pivoted to takeout and delivery, paired with an 840% increase in weekly sales via online ordering.
- This is not a regional or urban trend. Per the graph below we are seeing an uptick in online orders in all types of geographic areas. In large suburbs, online ordering has grown 3,868% since February.
- In February, Online Ordering represented 1.5% of total sales volume for Upserve restaurants now using our online ordering platform. By early April, Online Ordering represented 43% of total sales volume for restaurants with Online Ordering enabled.
- As of April 8, 27% of restaurants showed an upward sales trend over the previous week, according to Upserve’s data.
- As of April 20, 7% of restaurants using Online Ordering were either not impacted by COVID (in terms of sales) or have recovered to more than 60% of February sales.
- While delivery orders represented 32% of all online orders in February, as of April 20, delivery only accounts for 14% of online orders. So while more Upserve restaurants opted for OLO, less were using delivery as a tactic.
- 63% of guests said they are likely to order pizza at this time with 51% saying they want burgers or sandwiches. The other top three most popular items after those are meat entrees, salads, and side dishes.
How can online ordering impact your restaurant?
Online ordering is growing and if hungry consumers can’t order from your restaurant, they’ll order from another business. If you want to know just how much of an impact an integrated online ordering solution can make on your business, a ramen restaurant in Vancouver, WA can give you some insight.
“We started seeing results immediately.” – Kenn Pluard, owner of Kenji’s Ramen
Kenn Pluard understands the importance of the intersection of food service and technology. With 70% of consumers interested in ordering directly from a restaurant, Kenn is keeping delivery commissions in his pocket through an integrated solution. Having Upserve Online Ordering on the Kenji’s Ramen website saves them from being hit with third-party commission fees.
After implementing Upserve’s Online Ordering solution, Kenji’s Ramen saw huge results in their own restaurant:
- Introducing online ordering has increased sales by 10%.
- Kenji’s saves 35% per order by using an owned online ordering solution.
“Millennials want a good experience. They want efficiency and they want to order online. You have to adapt to them,” he says. “Restaurants can’t be scared to use technology because it’s something that can only benefit them by saving time and eliminating errors.”
While a strictly “owned” online ordering solution might not be the best fit for everyone, restaurant owners can no longer deny the positive impact that online ordering can have on their business. By exploring whether third-party or an owned solution is right for your business, you can start seeing a growth in sales and happier customers by adopting the right tools.
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